


kissing death and losing my breath

by yndere



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: ??? ?? platonic-ish, ??? ?? romantic-ish, Alternate Universe, F/F, cupid!au, gods are involved, there are relationships but, there's plot too i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-12 23:32:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14737884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yndere/pseuds/yndere
Summary: on valentine's day, twelve mailboxs are filled according to cupid's notice. six receive love letters, dipped in his blessing. the other six aren't so lucky.or: twelve girls are fated to meet, love, and possibly die.





	1. i.

a stream of beer flows from cupid’s red-glistened cup. his arm is propelled into the air, fingers wrapped around the plastic as a delighted crow escapes his lips. he’s dressed up for the occasion―a dashing, black tux with a silky matching tie―though, the effects of the night has riled up his adequate fit. 

a crowd is formed around him, radiating of laughter and obliviousness. look at them. so god damn happy. he thinks to himself, lowering from the table in which he’d stood upon. his dark eyes roam around the party as the brim of the simple chalice meets his lips, trying to land onto something that would bring him more intrigue than anything the surrounding drunkards could offer.

a bitter taste coats his tongue and he swallows the liquid, wincing when it burns in his throat. dionysus was never his favorite, anyways. 

someone stumbles into his way and they curse out loud, barely maintaining balance as their sober friend hurriedly apologizes to the male and steadies them up with both hands. 

he waves them away, face the picture of charming innocence. the pair blush, but decide that a cute boy wouldn’t be a wise choice for them, especially in this manner. not stupid, cupid muses, eyebrow lifting as he watches them disappear around the corner of the house. ah, what a pity.

his mouth phases into a sneer and he nonchalantly tosses his drink onto the ground, splotches of caramel solution coating cement and dirt. he digs his heel onto a patch of weed―kills it―and kicks the cup away, not wanting it in his line of vision, chest puffed and tie loosened.

cupid was kind. cupid was loving. cupid was benevolent. cupid was _perfect_.

but cupid was also bored.

even gods can’t mix oil and water.

when the night begins to form in on itself, he admires the painting made around him, steps away from the dwindling ruckus and disappears.

 _perfect people need entertainment too_ , he tells himself. and plus, life wasn’t but a prolonged game to gods, was it?

cupid was _cruel_.

-

heejin’s three minutes late. she realizes it before she checks her new watch, wrings at her wrist on her way home. the bus dropped her off at the stop, like usual, but something was off. she grips the straps of her backpack, kicks at the particles on the ground. 

it’s not as if she had a specific time needed to return home, not as if her parents settled a curfew on her. not that she needed a curfew, anyways. she’d recently fired her babysitter―nanny, her parents had said over the phone―because what high school senior needs a babysitter? 

and she wasn’t just any high school senior either. she would be graduating valedictorian, co-captain of the volleyball team, head cheerleader, member of the beta club and class president for her year. 

she checks her watch again, glances at the time on her phone, and frowns when they match. she wasn’t supposed to be late; she was never late. it was an unspoken rule of life. if gravity existed, heejin was home on time.

yet, here she was. she fishes inside the bag’s side pocket―the school never implemented ones into their skirts, despite her continuous requests―and pulls out her key. 

well, not _her_ key, at all. she squints at it, unravels the chain to reveal her chain. she recognizes the minnie mouse souvenir her parents had sent from china, the small cork bottle with her name imprinted onto the tiny piece of paper, and the discount giftcard for the cupcake store downtown. but it wasn’t _her_ key that accompanied them. her key was gold, small, and chiseled due to mistreatment. the one attached to her chain was silver, long, and smooth. 

“am i on punk’d or something?” she mutters to herself. it wasn’t an impossibility… she heard rumors of a girl at school that’d been caught on catfish, shakes her head at the thought of it. she looks at the piece of metal, again, unsure of whether to call her parents or not. 

she can imagine the conversation, already. 

( “mom, i don’t have the key.”

“where’s vivi? isn’t she supposed to be home?”

“i laid her off.”

“you did _what_?” )

she decides it wouldn’t be in her favor, makes a note to inform them of her lack of a nanny when they come home from their trip. which may or may not be possibly never. fortunately, she has enough patience for never. 

she takes the key, hesitates when her eyes meet the doorknob, but ends up obliging. it never hurts to try, that's what she learned.

but it doesn’t fit. 

her new watch reads fifteen minutes late.


	2. ii.

sporadic knocks interrupt vivi’s line of thought. she almost spills the boiling water, balances the kettle at the last second. she sighs, audibly, removes the earphones from herself and sets down her bowl of dry ramen. 

it wasn’t uncommon for her neighbors to knock. terribly friendly people that she would believe were too good for the world if not for their constant visits to her apartment. not that she had anything new to show them everytime they came around. she could barely convince her own self to not move out. money was a tight spot. 

she makes out a small “coming!” in hopes that it would stop the headache-inducing symphony being performed against her wooden door. she unlocks it as fast as she can, swings it open with a plastered smile.

a student is on the other side, a face all too familiar for vivi. “heejin, what are you doing―” she starts, eyebrows narrowing in confusion.

“―where’s your purse at? don’t you keep your keys there? it’s the red one, isn’t it? or did you buy another one, already?” taking off her shoes, the high schooler doesn’t break stride and enters the room, vivi scrambling to shut the entrance behind them as the spur of questions begin to intoxicate her.

“you can’t just barge into my apartment, heejin―”

heejin disappears into the kitchen, seemingly ignoring anything the older was attempting to say. 

“heejin, are you listening―”

“―you’re eating ramen, again?” she cuts her off, once more. vivi’s headache is pounding. “i thought i told you that the seaweed soup offered at the markets was a lot cheaper and a lot healthier!” 

vivi walks over to her couch, unzips her red purse to gather the small item the other was looking for. she enters the kitchen to the sight of a comfortable heejin, glass of ice water in her grasp and holds out her palm, letting the key fall into the other’s hand before sinking back into a chair. 

“there, that’s what you needed, right? you can leave now.” she tips the kettle towards her bowl.

heejin’s eyes peek over the cup as she takes a sip in silence.

“heejin. don’t you have somewhere to be? where are your parents?” 

she lifts a shoulder. “overseas. they’re making a business offer to some small company in america. they won’t be back anytime soon.” 

“still? i thought you’d fired me because they were home.” vivi splutters, disbelief evident in her face.

“oh no, of course not. they would’ve never let me fire you. plus, in technicality, i laid you off. it’s really a difference. i don’t even need a nanny, babysitter, whatever you are―no offense.” 

“none taken.” she responds, picking at a dry stain on her tablesheet. 

“seriously, though. i’m old enough to take care of myself. i’m graduating this year, going to college… do they think i need someone to take care of me there, too?”

“you’re still a baby to them, heejin.” vivi runs her fingers through her hair―pink now, after the theatre kids recommended―and murmurs. “s’not a bad thing, they care about you lots. you’ve still got a ton of years left, so loosen up already. you’re way too young for this mature senior act you’ve got going.”

a roll of eyes is the eloquent response. “you know so much about being young and having a lot of years left, huh?” 

vivi scowls, pries the cup of water from the other’s hand, and proceeds to dump it into the sink―ignoring heejin’s squawks of wasting and what other uses that could’ve had.

-

cupid leans back in his chair, fingers digging into the curls atop his head. envoys surround him from feet to feet, meter to meter. “as i was saying,” his tone is light. “why can’t i have a little fun of my day?” there’s a small smile on his face, but passivity is everything but present in his manner.

the angels merely exchange glances, not wanting to be the shot messenger. 

“someone answer,” he hisses. “or i’ll kill you all.” 

at his threat, multiple voices pipe up in an attempt to save their own selves, jumbling into a mess of words that resulted in a glare of cupid that ceased their explanations. finally, one of them―a third sphere, cupid remembers―clears her throat. 

“lord zeus is against all of it―fears an event like last year will stir more trouble. olympus is in ruins over you, cupid, you have to make the right decision.” she tells him, eyebrows knit together in a plead.

cupid frames his face with the palm of his hand. “and what of the others? zeus has nothing to do with what i can or will do, you should know that.”

she scrunches her mouth to the side. “your mother stated her discomfort in front of the gods, but she admitted that because of your relations with her, she will not be having a say in the matter. there’s mixed feelings about everything. i have heard that hades has positive views toward the idea, but those are only rumors. it’s all in your hands.”

his mouth quirks up. “so, that means i can have a little fun on my day, doesn’t it?”

a flash of terror comes across the envoys’ faces before they murmur, reluctantly. “yes, sir.”

the four legs of his chair meet the ground once again and he crosses his legs, tilts himself forward towards the servants that surround him. they take a step back, unintentionally, and he laughs.

“you’re dismissed.” he lifts a hand to wave them off and they disappear one by one, relief evident on the way their wings form naturally. however, when the third sphere turns to go, she can’t.

she tries again, moves herself in the same way she’d seen the others do it, mirrors their exact motions, but she can’t.

cupid purrs. “you’re quite brave for your rankage, aren’t you?” 

she turns around, eyes widening in fear, hands clutching onto her robe for a reason cupid can’t pinpoint. “what are you going to do?” she whispers. 

“better question: what am i doing?” he stands up, large feathers painting his backside automatically. “and even better answer: i can do whatever i want.” 

she’s frozen as he makes his way towards her and sweat trickles down her temple when his arm moves up to unravel his thumb across her chin. he tugs it up, harshly, forces her to meet his gaze and she lets out a gasp in surprise at the sudden motion.

she can’t fight back. he’s too powerful, too cunning, too cruel.

her head jerks back and a satisfying crack bounces off cupid’s pasty walls. he holds her as she disappears into fine dust―chalk-like, almost―and cupid laughs once he’s the sole movement between the quartets. 

“oh, how fun this will be.”


	3. iii.

jungeun’s so happy she could die. at least that’s what she constantly tells her beautiful, blonde-haired girlfriend. _girlfriend._ just the word alone causes a giggle to bubble from her throat, reddened hues to stain her cheeks. 

jinsoul grins, tugs their intertwined hands towards her as she makes her way through the forest. jungeun is right at her heels, hopping over rocks and fallen trees, crunching leaves as she lets herself be dragged without knowledge. 

when her foot gets caught on a ledge, jinsoul turns around in surprise, laughs when they both topple into the shallow creek. there’s an abstract pattern on both of their pants and jungeun starts to complain about her wet socks. 

“i’m sure i can make up for them.” jinsoul murmurs, tilting her head to the side to reveal exactly how breathtaking she is. “unless you’re perfectly alright with those socks.” she glances downwards at her soaked sandals, looking up with amusement in her eyes. 

jungeun’s eyebrow lifts and she’s not sure where this is going, doesn’t know if she wants it to keep going or to slow down. “how so?” 

“this so.” jinsoul plants a swift kiss on the younger’s forehead before zipping her fingers back into their respected spot, resuming their journey to whatever destination was planned.

right now, at this instant, jungeun thinks everything couldn’t be any better than it already is. a twinge of guilt suddenly comes across her and her hand loosens in jinsoul’s, causing the other girl to turn and question.

“what’s up?” she asks, stopping in place. 

jungeun sighs and lifts a shoulder to shrug. “i told jiwoo i’d help her finish her project this morning. i didn’t even text her.” 

as if on cue, a buzz in her pocket causes both pairs of eyes to flicker down. she hesitates, untangles her fingers from jinsoul’s and takes it out. 

“is it jiwoo?” 

“yup. she’s telling me to say hi to you and that she’ll deal with me in the dorms later.” a slow smile spreads across her face. “she’s not angry, though. thankfully. god, i should’ve warned her before going out.” she claps a palm over her forehead, disappointed in herself. “it feels like i’ve backstabbed my best friend.”

jinsoul places both of her hands on the other’s shoulders and looks at her, earnestly. “feels like you’ve just cladded up in roman armor and stabbed a greek jiwoo through a curtain, thinking it was a macedonian during the second war?”

she can’t help but laugh. “stop trying to combine the shakespearian era with the macedonian wars, you dork.” 

“you’re no longer sad now, though.” jinsoul kisses the tip of jungeun’s nose and uses her fingers to drag the corners of her girlfriend’s mouth up. “now you’re smiling.” 

neither of them stop smiling when their hands fold together once again, when jinsoul finally takes jungeun to the little curve of rock that makes her happy, when they both sit on the array of leaves and start to talk, like they always do.

“how are your classes coming along?” jinsoul inquires, focused on wringing stems of flowers together. 

jungeun wraps her arms around her knees, rocks back in forth in place as she thinks. “they’re okay. i took up the work-study program, so at least i’m not fully in debt. i’m not sure what i want to major in, though. but the swim team is looking for people, i saw the flyers.” 

“you should join! i could take pictures of you―for yearbook and stuff. it’ll help with my portfolio and stuff, too. plus, it’s you, so that’s another pro.” she says, looking up with excitement.

“first, stop saying _stuff._ ” jungeun teases. “but i’ll think about it. how about you? your photography major going well?”

jinsoul bites at her lip. “it is. i mess up with a couple of things, like my darkroom and stuff, but my professor’s a total pushover. i’m worried about my final project, though, i heard he’s really strict when it comes to that.” 

“you’ll do well, don’t worry about it! you’re jinsoul: dumb in the streets, smart in the―work―sheets.” 

jinsoul stifles a laugh, leans over to place a completed flower crown on the other’s head. her fingers linger for a second and jungeun can tell that both of them want her to tip her face up and press her lips against hers. 

but she doesn’t. she sits back down, props her feet against jungeun’s shoes and cocks her head. “are your socks still wet?”

-

“cupid, i know i can’t influence your decision, but i’m going to try, anyways.” zeus’ voice booms even through open walls and he sets a stiff palm on the younger’s forearm. a shiver undulates through the god of love and he fights everything in him that tells him to step back.

“are you now?” is his bitter response and he swipes at the hand on him until its grip releases. “it’s going to be in vain.”

there’s a spark in the god’s eyes as he eyes cupid down. “i know.”

cupid glances away, the pads of his fingers hovering over his harp with ease. he’s reluctant to play now, in front of a witness. 

he flicks his wrist, watches the musical instrument materialize into the air and be replaced with his bow. 

“impressive.” zeus comments. “where’s the arrows?”

cupid glares, but snaps―gaze locked onto zeus as feathers flutter across his digits. “what do you want? besides wanting to stare at me do my daily necessities.”

zeus chuckles, bold waves rippling through air. “i can take my time, can’t i?”

“don’t think i won’t shoot you right now.” 

“insolence is a matter disclosed between yourself. i have no say in what i think you will or won’t do.” 

“then why are you here? if not to ‘have a say’ in my decisions?” a growl escapes cupid’s throat and his fist clenches around the magical item in his grasp.

“be careful with that, it’s no longer replaceable.” 

“what are you talking about?” he opens up his palm, watches the arrow disappear into dust. he snaps his hand again, awaiting a replacement―anger seeping through his bones when nothing happens. thirteen arrows are in his inventory now and he curses aloud. “what have you done?”

“only what is necessary. you will still have fun on your day, but it will be limited. i will not have a massacre on a simple place such as earth.” the god states, rubbing at his chiseled chin.

“go.” is the only word that escapes cupid’s shaking body. he swallows hard, seething as he puts away the remainder of his arrows. 

zeus purses his lips. “if you insist.”

when zeus turns to go, an arrow pierces through the air that the god once stood. 

twelve are left.


End file.
